


Suddenly, You're at the Party

by sa7vrn



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pool Party, also everyone swears, think again bucko, you thought i knew how to tag things on ao3, you thought you wouldn't see hive/aloha on ao3 today
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28545318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sa7vrn/pseuds/sa7vrn
Summary: The Splatocalypse Final Fest ended months ago, and Hivemind isn't sure if he's over it yet. Coming up on a seemingly-normal weekend, he gets a text message and a party invite to New Albacore! Wow!
Relationships: Hivemind/Aloha (Splatoon)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	1. You've Been Invited!

**Author's Note:**

> inspired pretty heavily by Lemon Demon's "You're at the Party" since it's got the vibes
> 
> the first chapter is presented as a log of Hivemind's text messages between himself (H), Aloha (A) and Fierce (F). Hivemind talks much differently with Fierce, since they've known each other for so long.

\- Thursday, 4:22 pm -

A: Heeeeey party animals!! The rest of Pink Team and I got New Albacores pool rented out (along with some hotel rooms if some of yall wanna stay the night 🟊) for tomorrow into Saturday afternoon! If youre coming jus reply back lol thanks!!

**H: What?  
**

**H: Who is this?**

\- Thursday, 4:30 pm -

A: Oh hi Hive! Guess that means youre comin along huh? 🟊

**H: Oh. Is this Aloha?**

A: Duh???

**H: Who gave you my number...?**

A: Fierce! Said he wanted you to unwind, like you were stressed and everything

* * *

\- Thursday, 4:32 pm -

**H: im gonna fuckin throttle you**

F: HAHA

* * *

\- Thursday, 4:32 pm -

A: So like anyway we only have so many rooms open for the night? I dunno whos gonna want to spend the night with someone else or whatever so you should get a +1 ♪

**H: Fierce gave you my number and then said he wasn’t coming?**

A: No he said he was coming but he wasnt gonna spend the night for sure

A: I didnt question it

A: Idk do you want me to ask?

**H: No. It’s fine, I remember he had something to do on Sunday.**

A: Ok

A: Well in that case see you Friday night!! Good to see you 🟊

**H: We haven’t seen each other yet.**

A: Alright SMARTASS I meant for tomorrow

* * *

\- Thursday, 4:41 pm -

**H: so i got done talking with aloha**

**H: he seems excited, but that might just be how he talks over text**

**H: and all the time, i suppose**

F: you didn’t turn him down??

**H: no. i didn’t have it in me**

F: oh man finalfest really got to ya huh

**H: not the point and also your head looks like a fuckin zested lemon**

F: what is then??

**H: we talked about you going out of town on Sunday. are you planning on me being home by the time you’re back?**

F: are you gonna stay the night?

**H: i’m not sure, but i want to be prepared either way**

F: i don’t care really but if things go wrong just text whenever

F: and i’ll head over

**H: thanks...i’ll get some stuff packed tonight and i’ll bring it with me just in case**

F: sounds good


	2. You're at the Party!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hivemind shows up to the hotel, gets nervous, and gets observant!

The New Albacore Hotel was a short taxi ride from where Hivemind was staying with Fierce and the other guardians. This meant that, unfortunately, Hive didn’t have much time to steel his nerves about showing up to a nighttime party he was cordially invited to. It was a normal thing in Inkopolis-it wasn’t uncommon to hear some sort of bass-boosted music in the distance or speeding by in a vehicle.

Hivemind really never understood it. After all, huge parties, all that _chaos_ , was what led to people getting hurt, things getting destroyed. Some things could be forgiven if it’s small, but what if it’s a serious injury? What if a sentimental object gets ruined? What if it gets to be too much? All he felt he could hope for was that the party-goers and all their associates could read the room and adjust before anything bad happens.

Hive thanked the taxi driver, leaving the jellyfish a sizable tip, and started towards the sliding doors of the hotel. Had he looked back, he would have seen the driver cocking his head to the side, staring at him as the inkling’s tentacles’ undersides glowed with a faint, white pulse.

So, Hivemind walked up to the elevator, trying to swallow his worry. He pressed the upward-facing panel and waited for the doors to open. As soon as they did, five people poured out quickly, all with beaming expressions that practically demanded a smile in return. The group made their way towards the exit, an octoling turning her head and smiling at the stunned Hivemind before following her friends, texting on her phone. He found it...odd. He hadn’t said anything, even actively avoided acknowledging them, and she still noticed and welcomed him. He didn’t see any malice there. That was weird to him.

Hive entered the elevator. The inside was mostly a shiny, smooth silver, with accents of dark-stained wood along the handles. With a quick glance over the buttons inside, the elevator was on its way to the rooftop pool.

Hivemind went along with it.

The elevator was silver. Hivemind went along with it.

It felt like things were slowing down. Hivemind went along with it.

The music got louder. Hivemind went along with it.

The elevator’s doors opened. Aloha was waiting there.

This felt like a bad idea.


	3. You are the Nuisance!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aloha has Hivemind along for the ride! Moon's out, swoons out.

“Hey-hey, Hive-buddy!” Aloha sang, pulling Hivemind through the open elevator doors. The latter felt his body tense up as the former grabbed onto his wrist. His shoulders raised into a constant shrug, the collar of Hive’s vest puffing up around his neck. Aloha casually dragged his guest along for the introductory ride, showing him what’s-what and what’s-that. “We’re stoked that you could make it! The pool’s open whenever you feel like hopping in--get changed by the rooms near the elevator--we got lounge chairs set up along the east side of the pool, foodstand is to the northeast end, the drinks are over there too! We got punch aaand a lotta soda-pop aaaand lemonade aaaaa--”

“Just HOLD ON!” Hive shouted, his antenna blinking rapidly for a moment as he wrenched his hand away from the party animal’s grasp. He put his other hand to his forehead, looking downwards. “God, just...give me a sec.”

Aloha’s eyes went wide as he felt a strange jolt down his back, right when Hive called out. New guests were often a little overwhelmed at first, he thought, but the way he barked that at him, it felt like...a command. As the leader of the Pink Team, he disliked getting lip from anyone, but that...that was enough, somehow.

_ Oh, wait. This was the guy who thought he’d become a God of Order. Right. _ “Sorry buddy,” Aloha said with a meek grin. “I’ll slow down a little next time.”

Hivemind gave a nod and a quick grunt in reply to the apology (which, Aloha would have to admit, kind of left him hanging) as he slowly looked around the rooftop as if scanning for something. His antenna flicked up and down slightly, as if he were an oversized, prickly-mannered ant. Aloha...thought it was adorable. Fierce had mentioned some of Hive’s “cute quirks” to Aloha in passing, but never elaborated on what those were. He had to wonder if the silver-inked VIP knew it was happening, or if it came to him as easily as breathing.

“...Apologies for my behavior, Aloha,” Hivemind finally spoke, turning to the host of the evening. “It...it’s hard for me to get my bearings in a new place. With all the noise and people and whatnot.” He was frowning as he glanced around any time he saw movement. Luckily for him, Aloha was a party-throwing machine! He’s seen this kind of thing before; if a guest doesn’t want to open up, they won’t. The next thing to do is keep them comfortable and as happy as can be. It’s not a party if someone’s unhappy like that!

He walked up to Hivemind and patted his back-a friendly gesture that still made this particular recipient flinch. “S’alright, guy!” Aloha leaned closer to Hive’s face and pointed towards the lounge area. “There’s a larger chair near the foodstand--it’s closer to the corner and a little quieter. See it?” When he saw him nod, he continued. “Okay, sooo you can head on over there and relax a lil’, take however many breathers you need tonight, and you can call me over if you need anything. Okay?”

“Um, okay,” Hivemind said flatly. “Thank you, Aloha.” He began walking towards the other side of the rooftop, peeking behind him with a nervous smile to see Aloha waving back and egging him on. Once again, he was unaware of his tentacles’ pulsing patterns. To anyone from the outside, they wouldn’t be able to tell what beat they were matching to…

...Unless you were Aloha. He recognizes that rhythm. They’re playing his favorite song over the intercom right now.

* * *

Hivemind sat in that chair for a while. He wasn’t sure how long, but as the party went on, as people passed by, he noticed he was calmer than when he arrived. Staring up at the clear, night sky, he saw the moon right overhead, right where it should be. He kept track of different astronomic events as a hobby, but always felt extremely attached to the moon. It wasn’t quite full that night, but unless some impossibly rare, unthinkable event happened in the next twenty-four hours, it will be full tomorrow evening. The course of the cosmos was always something he felt he could count on. Nothing was ever in the wrong place out there. Inkopolis’s light pollution made it difficult to see some individual stars and constellations...but they were still there, weren’t they?

He looked back down to Earth, to the people he willingly put himself around. Aloha was chatting with the DJ and other partiers, laughing loudly every so often. He noticed how often he waved his arms around, how his gestures were always meaningful despite their frequency. He was in his element here...and Hivemind wanted to understand it.

That’s right, he’s not in the wrong place. He should enjoy his time here, try to meet new people. Maybe he’d start to figure out why they were being nice to him if he only reached out and  _ asked. _ He didn’t need to be afraid, right?

A song Hivemind thought he recognized started playing. It had somewhat of a heavy beat, but the rest of the song was light, easy on the ears. He felt his ink pumping along with it, and it felt nice. That’s all he wanted right now, he wanted to feel good and have fun. His tentacles were glowing a bit brighter now, the true iridescence of his chromatophores more apparent.

He stood up, and decided to go with the flow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hour hand's gone, and now you're feeling strange!"


End file.
